Weaving machine, yarn feeder and method for inserting a weft yarn

ABSTRACT

A projectile-weaving machine is equipped with a weft yarn feeder having a stationary storage body for intermediately storing a yarn store consisting of windings, the weft feeder comprising a passive hollow balloon breaker functionally associated to a withdrawal rim of the storage body. In addition to the passive balloon breaker, several yarn control elements are separated in circumferential direction for being actively moved by a drive from an outer rest position into an inner operative position which without totally stopping withdrawn weft yarn are brought into a mechanical engagement on the weft yarn upstream from the withdrawal rim and starting with an end phase of an insertion on the weft yarn while the weft yarn is taken off from the yarn store over the withdrawal rim.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a weaving machine having drivenprojectiles or rapiers, to a weft yarn feeder for a weaving machine, andto a method for inserting a weft yarn into a weaving machine.

When weaving fabrics, there exist so called heavy duty applicationsmeaning that coarse yarn qualities are woven such as heavy syntheticyarns or heavy synthetic bands, e.g. made from polypropylene. Specialweaving machines are employed for heavy duty applications and alsospecial weft yarn feeders designed to process such yarn qualities. Up tonow it was considered to be sufficient to control the unavoidable yarnballoon occurring when withdrawing the weft yarn from the storage bodyof the yarn feeder with the insertion element of the weaving machine bya passive balloon breaker, e.g. a so-called balloon breaker cone asknown from U.S. Pat. No. 5,769,132 A. However, newer and wider weavingmachines for heavy duty applications have been developed which, e.g.have a weaving width of more than 5 meters and operate with considerablyincreased weaving speed. On such newly developed weaving machines, ithas been found that a passive balloon breaker does not worksatisfactorily enough because weft yarn very frequently becomesentangled in the region between the withdrawal rim of the storage bodyand the balloon breaker.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,778,943 A relates to a weft yarn feeder equipped with acontrollable output brake for the weft yarn. The output brake comprisesa conical brush ring fixed to a housing bracket of the yarn feeder suchthat the bristles of the conical output brake cooperate with the roundedwithdrawal rim of the storage body directly at the front end of thestorage body. However, for heavy duty applications, the known yarnfeeder does not work properly because the weft yarn may form entangledyarn loops between subsequent insertions in the region upstream from theentrance into the output brake.

U.S. Pat. No. 3,411,548 A (FIGS. 8 and 13) relates to a weft yarn feederfor a projectile weaving machine. The stationary storage body has aconical withdrawal rim which directly continues from a cylindricalregion of the storage body where the yarn store is stored intermediatelyfor being taken off by the projectile. A circumferentially closed brushring is supported at the housing of the yarn feeder such that the endsof the inwardly projecting bristles contact the withdrawal rim in orderto generate a desirable yarn tension during each insertion. In order tovary the yarn tension generated by the brush ring during each insertionin adapt action to the weaving cycle, the brush ring is moved back andforth parallel to the axis of the storage body. In one embodiment, anend flange forms the front end of the stationary storage body. The outerdiameter of the end flange is larger than the diameter of the storagebody in the region where the yarn store is stored intermediately. Thebrush ring cooperates with the end flange. The brush ring can even bemoved axially in relation to the withdrawal rim until the bristles arecompletely lifted from the withdrawal rim and do not impart anytensioning action on the weft yarn. In a heavy duty application, theweft yarn tends to get entangled around the front end of the storagebody.

It is an object of the invention to provide a weaving machine, a yarnfeeder, and a method for inserting a weft yarn which avoids thedrawbacks encountered with heavy duty applications, i.e. allow fabricsto be woven from very coarse yarn qualities without operationdisturbances caused by entangled weft yarn.

This object is achieved by the features of this invention. According tothe present invention, there is provided a weaving machine equipped witha weft yarn feeder having a stationary storage body for intermediatelystoring a yarn store. The weft yarn feeder includes a passive hollowballoon breaker functionally associated with a withdrawal rim of thestorage body. In addition, several yarn control elements are provided atthe weft yarn feeder, which yarn control elements are distributed in acircumferential direction with intermediate distances in between andwhich can be adjusted actively by a drive from an outer rest position inan end phase of an insertion into an inner operative position upstreamfrom the withdrawal rim and into a mechanical engagement on the weftyarn taken off from the yarn store without completely stopping the weftyarn.

The weaving machine processes coarse yarn qualities with an extremelylow quota of disturbances even in heavy duty applications when weavingfabric with considerable weaving width and extremely high weaving speedbecause the actively controlled yarn control elements, acting inaddition to the passive balloon breaker on the region of the storagebody between the yarn store and the withdrawal rim, assure that at theend of an insertion, and prior to the start of a subsequent insertion,the weft yarn is prevented from becoming entangled. The mechanicalinfluence of the yarn control elements, i.e. of at least one of the yarncontrol elements, on the withdrawn weft yarn reliably suppresses aballoon formation in the region of the yarn control elements and assuresthat after the insertion the weft yarn does not get slacky and that thefront most windings in the yarn store do not lose their correct order.The yarn control elements only impart the mechanical influence on theweft yarn beginning with the end phase of the insertion but are held intheir rest position during the main part of the insertion. The balloonsuppressing effect of the yarn control elements then also assists theballoon suppressing effect of the passive balloon breaker to assure thatthe weft yarn follows an orderly path inside the balloon breaker duringthe end phase of the insertion and after the insertion of the weft yarnhas stopped. When a subsequent insertion is started, the yarn controlelements are already brought into the rest positions such that the weftyarn takes an orderly, unobstructed course from the yarn store over thewithdrawal rim into the balloon breaker. The high acceleration of theweft yarn in the start phase of the subsequent insertion is not at allnegatively influenced by the yarn control elements. Controlling the weftyarn beginning with the end phase of the insertion by the yarn controlelements reliably prevents the weft yarn from becoming entangled. Thisavoids operation disturbances and undesirable fabric faults even in thecase of very coarse yarn qualities such as band-shaped yarns made frompolypropylene.

In the yarn feeder, the temporary engagement of the actively controlledyarn control elements beginning with the end phase of insertion is ofassistance for the balloon suppressing effect of the passive balloonbreaker and assures that no critical entanglements occur neither when aninsertion is terminated nor before the subsequent insertion is started.

According to the method, the interaction between the actively controlledyarn control elements and the withdrawn weft yarn is only limited andbegins at the end phase of an insertion, while during the main part ofthe insertion, the weft yarn can be withdrawn without disturbance by theyarn control elements with full speed and high acceleration. The yarncontrol elements are controlled such that they add an additional balloonsuppressing action to the given balloon suppressing action of thepassive balloon braking when the weft yarn is decelerated and finallybrought to a stop because then the passive balloon breaker cannotgenerate any influence on the weft yarn in the region between the yarnstore on the storage body and the withdrawal rim. The engagement of theyarn control elements first starts in the end phase of the insertion andis actively terminated shortly before the start of the subsequentinsertion. The engagement must, in any case, not stop the weft yarn buthas to create a mechanical obstacle only which prevents the weft yarnsection between the yarn store and the withdrawal rim from becomingslack and avoids that the front most windings in the yarn store losetheir orderly placements on the storage body and inadvertently travelfurther forward while the weft yarn is decelerated abruptly.

In a preferred embodiment, the yarn control elements are distributedregularly in circumferential direction in a common plane which isperpendicular to the axis of the storage body. This arrangement assuresthat with certainty at least one of the yarn control elements, orpreferably several of the yarn control elements, will mechanicallyengage on the weft yarn.

Expediently, two to four yarn control elements may be provided such thatthe intermediate distance between adjacent yarn control elements islarger in circumferential direction than the circumferential dimensionof each yarn control element. As the weft yarn rotates during withdrawalaround the front end of the storage body, even such a small number ofyarn control elements suffice to assure that the mechanical engagementtakes place accordingly.

In an expedient embodiment, the yarn control elements are aligned with aregion of the storage body upstream from the withdrawal rim, whichregion defines the maximum diameter of the storage body and whichextends continuously in circumferential direction. Preferably, thisregion has a larger diameter than another region of the storage bodyprovided for carrying the yarn store. The circumferentially continuousregion of the storage body provides a smooth and continuous guiding andsupporting surface for the rotating weft yarn.

In an expedient embodiment, each yarn control element is a pin which ismovable substantially radially with respect to the axis of the storagebody. In order to avoid that the pin stops in the operative positioncompletely, the withdrawal movement of the weft yarn, the free end ofthe pin forms a gap with the storage body in the operative positionwhich gap is wider than the yarn thickness. Due to centrifugal forcetending to lift the weft yarn from the storage body in the end phase ofthe insertion, the weft yarn then comes into mechanical engagement withat least one of the yarn control elements.

Expediently, the yarn control element is driven by a linear drive suchas a pneumatic cylinder or a solenoid. In some cases, the drive may onlyfulfill a stroke of the yarn control element in one direction againstthe force of a spring which acts the opposite direction. Alternatively,the linear drive could actively control the yarn control elements inboth moving directions.

In a preferred embodiment, the yarn control elements and a common drivefor all yarn control elements or separate drives are arranged in a ringbody surrounding a front end of the storage body with radial distance.The ring body not only serves as the carrier for the yarn controlelements and the drive or the drives but also fulfills a supplementalballoon suppressing function during the insertion.

The part of the yarn control element which engages in the operativeposition at the weft yarn is either rigid in circumferential directionor is flexible. If the part is rigid, the part has to keep a certaindistance from the storage body in the operative position of the yarncontrol element. If the part is flexible, the part even may contact thestorage body in the operative position of the yarn control elementbecause then this part will yield when the weft yarn is passing beneath.

In a preferred embodiment, the ring body is arranged such in a housingbracket of the weft yarn feeder that the ring body can be adjusted inthe direction of the axis of the storage body. The housing bracketcomprises a linear adjustment mechanism for the ring body allowing thering body to be optimally placed in relation to the storage body and/orthe withdrawal rim. Expediently, the passive balloon breaker isremovably arranged at the ring body. As such, the ring body fulfillsseveral tasks.

In an alternative embodiment, the yarn control element is eitherdesigned as a brush having bristles, or fingers pointing towards thestorage body, or carrying a foam material layer or a felt layer. In thecase of bristles or fingers, the bristles may be oriented eithersubstantially radially with respect to the axis of the storage body ormay be inclined in the direction in which the weft yarn is rotatingduring withdrawal.

In another preferred embodiment, the yarn control element may be a leafspring. The leaf spring can be bent in the direction which the weft yarnis rotating during withdrawal. The drive for adjusting the leaf springbetween the rest position and the operative position may be either aradial linear drive or a pivot drive for pivoting the leaf spring.

In another preferred embodiment, the yarn control element may bedesigned as a pivot arm or a pivotable brush having fingers or bristlesoriented towards the storage body. In both cases the drive may be apivot drive like a pneumatic piston, a solenoid or an electric stepmotor.

For the method, it is important that the yarn control elements arebrought into the operative position first beginning with the end phaseof the insertion, i.e. as soon as or before the withdrawn weft yarn isdecelerated abruptly. The yarn control elements then mechanically engageon the weft yarn until the weft yarn comes to a stop caused by thestoppage of the insertion element, i.e. the projectile. It is, however,expedient to keep the mechanical engagement of the yarn control elementson the weft yarn even longer, namely, to a point in time shortly beforethe start of the subsequent insertion, i.e. to return the yarn controlelement into the rest position first some milli-seconds prior to thestart of the subsequent insertion.

In relation to the angle of rotation of 360° of the main shaft of theweaving machine, the yarn control elements should mechanically engage atthe weft yarn for the last about 30° to 70° of the insertion and only upto 5° to 10° ahead of the start of the subsequent insertion. During themain period of the insertion, the yarn control elements then will beheld in the rest positions where they do not impart any mechanicalinfluence on the weft yarn.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments of the invention will be explained with reference to thedrawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of a projectile weaving machineequipped with at least one yarn feeder,

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal section of an embodiment of a yarn feeder asschematically shown in FIG. 1, in a first operative phase,

FIG. 3 is a part of the sectional illustration of FIG. 2, in secondoperative position,

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a component of the weft yarn feeder ofFIGS. 2 and 3,

FIG. 5 is a detail variant partial in sectional illustration,

FIG. 6 is another detail variant,

FIG. 7 is another detail variant,

FIG. 8 is another detail variant,

FIG. 9 is another detail variant, and

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram illustrating an insertion, e.g. in theweaving machine of FIG. 1 indicating the rotation of a main shaft of theweaving machine and strokes of actively controlled yarn controlelements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

A weaving machine W, schematically shown in FIG. 1, comprises a weavingshed 1 having a reed la driven by a main shaft 2 of the weaving machine.One of a plurality of projectiles 3 serves as an insertion element E forinserting a weft yarn Y into the weaving shed 1. The weft yarn Y isintermediately stored in a yarn store 7 on a stationary storage body 6of a weft yarn feeder F which takes off the weft yarn Y from a storagebobbin B. The weft yarn feeder F has a housing 4 and awinding-on-element 5 which can be driven for rotation by a motor 16 inrelation to the stationary storage body 6 which might have substantiallythe form of a drum. A housing bracket 9 supports a hollow passiveballoon breaker 8 (e.g. a balloon breaker cone) aligned with the storagebody 6 such that the withdrawn weft yarn Y has to pass through thepassive balloon breaker 8. Furthermore, several yarn control elements 11are provided which can be actively driven by either a common or byseparate drives 10 as it will be explained in more detail with respectto FIGS. 2, 3 and 4.

The weaving machine W, in particular, is a weaving machine for heavyduty applications. The weft yarn feeder F is also prepared (e.g.anti-abrasive coating on the storage body, powerful motor, robustsensor, etc.) for heavy duty applications meaning for a relativelycoarse and/or stiff weft yarn Y, e.g. a weft yarn such as a band ofsynthetic material like polypropylene.

In a not shown alternative, the weaving machine W could be a rapierweaving machine with drivable rapiers as insertion elements E.

The weft yarn feeder F in FIG. 2 comprises in the housing 4, the drivemotor 16 in the housing 4 for driving a main shaft 15 which in the rightside section of FIG. 2 is hollow and carries the winding-on element 5.The stationary storage body 6 is substantially conventional and issupported on the main shaft 15. The storage body 6 has a circumferentialand axial region 12 intended for carrying the yarn store 7 (not shown inFIG. 2). This region 12 might consist of spaced apart axial rods betweenwhich conventional advance elements operate in order to transport thewindings in the yarn store 7 forward and to separate the windings fromeach other. A sensor device 17 is arranged partly in the storage body 6and at the lower side of the housing bracket 9. The sensor device 17,e.g. serves to control the drive motor 16. The region 12 issubstantially cylindrical and is continued by another cylindricalcircumferentially continuous region 13 which in the shown embodimentdefines the largest diameter of the storage body 6. At the front end ofthe storage body 6, a withdrawal rim 14 is provided with a diameterwhich decreases in withdrawal direction, i.e. is conically tapered or isrounded convexly.

The front end of the storage body 6 is surrounded by a ring body 18which is supported via a slider 19 in the housing bracket 9. Asadjustment mechanism 20 allows the position of the ring body 18 to beadjusted parallel to the axis of the storage body 6.

In this embodiment, the passive hollow balloon breaker 8 is removablyfixed by the big diameter end to the ring body 18. In another not shownembodiment, the passive balloon breaker 8 could be fixed to the housing4, or the housing bracket 9, or to another not shown support. The ringbody 18 forms a circumferential continuous gap around the region 13. Thegap width is, e.g. a multiple of the thickness of the weft yarn Y whichis to be processed. The ring body 18 here even extends in axialdirection beyond the front end of the storage body 6.

According to the invention, a plurality of actively controlled yarncontrol elements 11, e.g. arranged at the ring body 18, is distributedwith circumferential intermediate distances, preferably regularly,around the front end of the storage body 6. Examples of the number ofyarn control elements 11 are two, three or four. The number, however,could even be larger than four. The yarn control elements in FIGS. 2 and3 are oriented radially to the axis of the storage body 6 and can beactively driven in a radial direction between an operative position(FIG. 2, P2) and a rest position (FIG. 3, P1) by a common drive or byseparate linear drives such as pneumatic cylinders, solenoids, orelectric linear motors, etc. represented by the indicated drive 10supported on the ring body 18.

In FIGS. 2 and 3, the yarn control element is a rigid pin 22. In theoperative position P2 in FIG. 2, the free end of the pin 22 maintains apredetermined distance from the region 13 of the storage body 6 so thata gap x is kept open with a width a slightly larger than the thicknessof the weft yarn Y processed by the weft yarn feeder F and the weavingmachine W.

In a not shown embodiment, the pin 22 could instead be flexible incircumferential direction and also axial direction of the storage body6. In this case, it is possible that the pin 22 even slightly contactsthe region 13 of the storage body 6 in the operative position P2.

FIG. 2 shows that the ring body 18 has a smooth, substantiallycylindrical inner surface 21 such that the ring body 18 also fulfills aballoon suppressing function for the withdrawn weft yarn Y. In the restposition P1 in FIG. 3, the yarn control element 11 is moved outwardly sothat the free end is either substantially flush with the cylindricalsurface 21 or is even set back to a small extent.

The respective drive 10 is controlled in relation to the weaving cycleof the weaving machine 2 such that the yarn control elements 11 arebrought into the operative positions P2 first in the end phase of ainsertion and before the weft yarn is stopped by a stoppage of theprojectile 3, are then kept in the operative positions to a point intime shortly before the start of the subsequent insertion and are thenmoved into the rest positions P1 before the subsequent insertion startsand are finally kept in the rest positions P1 over the major part of theinsertion.

FIG. 4 illustrates the ring body 18 serving at the carrier for thedrives 10, which in this case are linear drives 23, and receiving theyarn control elements 11. In this case, there are three yarn controlelements 11 regularly distributed in a common plane about the extensionof the ring body 18 such that the intermediate distance between adjacentyarn control elements 11 is larger than the circumferential dimension ofthe respective yarn control element 11.

The ring body 18 carries the slider 19 and e.g. is prepared withfastening holes 24 for removably fixing the passive hollow balloonbreaker 8.

FIG. 10 illustrates one insertion P within a rotation of 360° of themain shaft 2 of the weaving machine W. The insertions, e.g. starts at150° and is terminated at 340°. The remaining angular range within the360° revolution of the main shaft 2 is used for cutting the weft yarn,for beating up the inserted weft yarn by the weaving reed, for carryingout the shed change, for transmitting the weft yarn to a projectile 3and e.g. also for selecting the respective weft yarn. Some degrees priorto the start of the insertion P, e.g. at 145°, the yarn control elements11 are actively moved from the operating positions P2 into the restpositions P1 and are then kept in the rest positions P1 up to, e.g.310°. At 310 , for example, the yarn control elements 11 are againactively moved into the operative position P2 so that the yarn controlelements 11 remain in the operative positions P2 for the last about 30°to about 70° of the insertion P. Expediently, the yarn control elements11 are further kept in the operative positions P2 up to again about 145°before the subsequent insertion P or are actively moved into the restpositions P1 some milli-seconds prior to the start of the subsequentinsertion P.

The yarn control element 11 in the embodiment of FIG. 5 is a brush 25having bristles or fingers 26 oriented toward the region 13 of thestorage body 6. FIG. 5 illustrates the rest position. The drive 10 is alinear drive 23, e.g. a pneumatic cylinder with a piston 23′ acting,e.g. against a return spring 29. In FIG. 5, the bristles or fingers 26,which are flexible, are oriented substantially radially with respect tothe axis of the storage body.

FIG. 6 illustrates a similar embodiment in which the brush 25 hasflexible bristles or fingers 26 which are inclined in relation to aradial orientation in the rotating direction 27 of the withdrawn weftyarn. Alternatively, instead of the flexible fingers or bristles 26, alayer of felt or foam material 26 could be provided on the brush 25.

In the embodiment of FIG. 7, the yarn control element 11 is a leafspring 28 which is either curved or straight and is inclined in thedirection 27 of rotation of the withdrawn weft yarn. The drive 10 is alinear drive 23, e.g. a solenoid which is adapted to move the yarncontrol element 11 in both directions between the rest position and theoperative position. In the operative position as shown in FIG. 7, theremight be a small gap between the free end of the leaf spring 28 and theregion 13. Alternatively, the leaf spring 28 may even contact the region13.

In the embodiment of FIG. 8, the yarn control element 11 is a rigid orflexible pivot arm 30 fixed to a pivot axis 31. The drive 10 is a pivotdrive 32 like a rotary solenoid, a pneumatic piston, a step motor, orthe like. At least in the operative position, the pivot arm 13 might beinclined in the direction 27 of the rotation of the withdrawn weft yarn.

As a not shown alternative embodiment, the leaf spring 28 of FIG. 7could instead be moved by a pivot drive 32 between both positions.

In FIG. 9 the yarn control element 11 is a pivotably supported smallbrush 33 having several flexible bristles 34. The bristles 34 can bepivoted by a pivot drive 32, e.g. into contact with the region 13 of thestorage body 6.

1. Weaving machine having driven projectiles or rapiers as weft yarninsertion elements and at least one weft yarn feeder with a stationarystorage body for intermediately storing a yarn store consisting ofwindings and further comprising a passive hollow balloon breaker whichis functionally associated to the storage body having a front endwithdrawal rim the diameter of which decreases in withdrawal directionof the weft yarn, wherein in addition to the passive balloon breakerseveral yarn control elements are provided at the weft yarn feeder whichyarn control elements are distributed in circumferential direction withintermediate distances in between and which can be adjusted actively byat least one drive from an outer rest position in an end phase of aninsertion into an inner operative position upstream from the withdrawalrim and into a mechanical engagement on the weft yarn which is taken offfrom the yarn store via the withdrawal rim without completely stoppingthe weft yarn.
 2. Weft yarn feeder for a weaving machine having drivenprojectiles or rapiers as weft yarn insertion elements, the weft yarnfeeder comprising a stationary, drum-shaped storage body forintermediately storing a yarn store consisting of windings, out of whichyarn store the weft yarn intermittently is taken off over head of awithdrawal rim at a front end of the storage body, the weft yarn feederincluding a hollow passive balloon breaker functionally associated tothe storage body, wherein in addition to the passive balloon breakerseveral yarn control elements are provided at the weft yarn feeder whichyarn control elements are distributed in circumferential direction withintermediate distances in between and which can be adjusted actively byat least one drive from an outer rest position in an end phase of aninsertion into an inner operative position upstream from the withdrawalrim and into a mechanical engagement on the weft yarn which is taken offfrom the yarn store via the withdrawal rim without completely stoppingthe weft yarn.
 3. Weft yarn feeder according to claim 2, wherein theyarn control elements are regularly distributed in circumferentialdirection in a common plane which is perpendicular to the axis of thestorage body.
 4. Weft yarn feeder according to claim 2, wherein two tofour yarn control elements are provided and that the intermediatedistance between adjacent yarn control elements is larger incircumferential direction than the circumferential dimension of eachyarn control element.
 5. Weft yarn feeder according to claim 2, whereinthe yarn control elements point toward a region of the storage bodyupstream from the withdrawal rim, which region of the storage bodyextends continuously in circumferential direction, preferably to aregion having a larger diameter than a region of the storage bodyprovided for carrying the yarn store.
 6. Weft yarn feeder according toclaim 2, wherein each yarn control element is a rigid pin which ismovable substantially radially and the free end of which maintains inthe operative position of the yarn control element a gap with storagebody wider than the thickness of the weft yarn.
 7. Weft yarn feederaccording to claim 2, wherein the yarn control element is connected to alinear drive such as a pneumatic cylinder or a solenoid and that theyarn control element is either driven by the linear drive in bothmovement directions or, in some cases, in one movement direction againstspring force.
 8. Weft yarn feeder according to claim 2, wherein the yarncontrol elements and either a common drive for all yarn control elementsor single discrete yarn control elements—drives are arranged at a ringbody surrounding a front end of the storage body with radial distance.9. Weft yarn feeder according to claim 2, wherein a part of the yarncontrol element engaging in the operative position on the weft yarn iseither rigid in circumferential direction or is flexible at least incircumferential direction.
 10. Weft yarn feeder according to claim 8,wherein the ring body is provided at a housing bracket of the weft yarnfeeder for an adjustment substantially in the direction of the axis ofthe storage body, that the housing bracket comprises a linear adjustingmechanism for the ring body, and that the passive balloon breakerremovably is secured to the ring body.
 11. Weft yarn feeder according toclaim 2, wherein the yarn control element is either a brush havingbristles or fingers pointing to the storage body which bristles orfingers preferably either are oriented substantially radially or areinclined in the direction of the rotation of the weft yarn duringwithdrawal, or is a brush having a layer consisting of foam material orfelt.
 12. Weft yarn feeding device according to claim 2, wherein theyarn control element is a leaf spring, which, preferably, is bent in thedirection of the rotation of the weft yarn during withdrawal, and thatthe drive is either a linear drive for linearly moving the leaf springor is a pivot drive for pivoting the leaf spring.
 13. Weft yarn feedingdevice according to claim 2, wherein the yarn control element is eithera pivot arm or a pivotable brush having fingers or bristles orientedtoward the storage body, and that the drive is a pivot drive.
 14. Amethod for inserting a weft yarn into a weaving machine having drivenprojectiles or rapiers as insertion elements and comprising at least oneweft yarn feeder having a stationary storage body for intermediatelystoring a yarn store consisting of windings, according to which methodthe weft yarn is taken off intermittently by the insertion elements fromthe yarn store over head and over a withdrawal rim of the storage bodyand through a passive hollow balloon breaker and is transported throughthe weaving shed of the weaving machine, wherein at least one yarncontrol element placed upstream from the withdrawal rim is moved at theend of an insertion from an outer rest position actively into anoperative position maximally into contact with the storage body upstreamfrom the withdrawal rim by a drive and without totally stopping the weftyarn, and that the yarn control element is returned actively into therest position just shortly before the start of the subsequent insertion.15. Method according to claim 14, wherein in relation to an angle ofrotation of 360° of a main shaft of the weaving machine, the yarncontrol element is brought into the operative position within about thelast 30° to 70° of the insertion and up to about 5° to 10° or somemilli-seconds prior to the start of the next insertion.